Finding Your Feet
by Tahquil
Summary: When a young girl finds herself in a strange, new world her one thought is how to get home. Instead she finds herself facing obstacles at every turn, including that of a fading memory. Will she find the courage that she feels she lacks in?
1. Prologue

Finding Your Feet 

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything associated with Lord Of The Rings. All characters/places are the property of J.R.R.Tolkein, as are any phrases that I have taken out of the books. Any phrases used from the film are the property of Peter Jackson. 

Prologue 

As the car slowly rolled to a stop, the young girl felt an immense sense of relief wash over her. Finally, she thought, I am home. Her friend Michelle's mother turned around in order to give her a cheerful, yet completely fake, smile. 

"Is this close enough to your house?" she asked, her bubbly voice reminding the girl yet again of Betty Boo.  

"_Mother_… Leah's house is all the way down the road, you don't seriously expect her to walk home with the weather like this!" Michelle whined, waving her hands about wildly in order to indicate the rain and heavy fog that had descended upon the small city of Brookville that afternoon. 

"Leah doesn't mind, do you dear? Besides we're in a hurry!"

"No we're not, you said before that you didn't have anything planned…"

"It's all right!" Both mother and daughter turned to look at the new speaker. "I don't mind walking home, I'll take a shortcut through the park." Gathering her over-packed duffel bag and aqua pillow together the girl began to slowly climb out of the car. 

Turning around, she smiled at the older women and said, "Thanks for giving me a lift Mrs. Delacourt, I really appreciated it."

The woman sniffed and replied, "It was my pleasure of course. I hope you had fun on the camp and tell your parents I said… hello." 

With a toss of dyed-blonde hair she began to apply another layer of her fuchsia colored lipstick, signaling to Leah that in her opinion the conversation was indeed over and it would be best if she just started walking home. Leah inwardly grimaced, trust Mrs. Delacourt to try and put her down in any way possible. The glamorous woman held a strong, yet completely ridiculous, grudge against her, being a scholarship student and all. It wasn't even like Leah was on a full scholarship, unlike Michelle and the majority of other rich children that attended Lords, the city's most expensive Private high school. Leah's parents had to spend a large part of the wages they received as teachers on the girl's schooling, leaving no money for brand name clothing, holidays and other such things. Not that Leah minded. She was comfortable in the clothes she wore and they lived near the City Library, meaning that she needed no other means of entertainment. 

"I'll call you tonight!" Michelle exclaimed, noticing the same thing as Leah. 

The raven-haired girl leaned out of the car in order to hug her friend and while doing so confidingly whispered "She's afraid the fog will mess up her hair!" 

Leah let out a small laugh and closed the car door gently- God forbid she do anything to harm one of Mrs. Delacourt's expensive cars! The vehicle pulled away and was lost in a sea of fog, while Leah was left with the image of Michelle waving through the window. 

She began the journey down the road, her heart filled with happiness at the thought of finally returning home. Today was the day that her class had returned from their compulsory, month-long leadership camp out in one of the bush towns and the young girl couldn't wait to finally see her family again. She wished that they had been the ones to pick her up at the High School but both her parents hadn't been able to take the time off from work. Instead she got stuck having to ask The Queen Of The World Snob Population for a lift home, an experience she would have preferred to skip. The woman didn't even have a job; instead she had successfully taken her ex-husband to the drycleaners when she declared that their marriage was over. Now he was stuck living with his mother while she had more money than her empty head knew what to do with. 

With a small sigh, she gave a look around, her imagination wandering at the sight of the trees looming into view through the mist and fog. Shivering slightly, Leah turned of the road veered toward the park area on her right. As she walked through the old trees a feeling of excitement at the thought of being in an "enchanted forest" and on her way to see her family again took over. She began to run, fastening her pace as the ground began to slope downwards, until she had reached the bottom of the rise, where a clearing was situated.  It was there that she realized that instead of thinning out, the trees had actually become closer together. Leah slowed down until she was at a standstill and it was at that point she realized that the trees weren't the same as the ones before. A loud shriek suddenly echoed throughout the forest, startling the girl and making her drop the pillow that she had been carrying in her right hand. Her heart began to race and she spun around to recede the way she came, back up the slight hill. There was no hill. The land now resembled that of a marshland, full of bogs and stretches of water. Gradually spinning around in a full circle Leah discovered that as far as the eye could see was all swampland and the only thing that had remain unchanged was the swirling mist and light spatter of rain. The fog was now thick as soup and as it crept towards her she fell her feet fall out from under her. The last reminiscence she had was of her family smiling, then a thick mist clouded her vision and darkness took over.


	2. Chapter One

Finding Your Feet

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything associated with Lord Of The Rings. All characters/places are the property of J.R.R.Tolkein, as are any phrases that I have taken out of the books. Any phrases used from the film are the property of Peter Jackson. 

Chapter One

As soon as Leah awoke, memories of the past events flashed through her head, along with the thought that it must have been a dream. Slowly opening her eyes she made the horrifying discovery that it was now late morning and she was lying on the damp ground in what appeared to be the same marshland as before. "Have I been unconscious the entire night?" she wondered. Abruptly she heard what appeared to be voices, which seemed to be coming closer to where she was laying. 

Leah quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed her duffel bag from were it had been lying a couple of meters away, then began glancing furtively around for a place to hide. Noticing a dying bush a couple of meters away, she made for it but tripped over some rocks in the process. Scrambling to her feet again she hid behind the bush and waited to see who it was that was coming. She soon began to hear the voices more clearly, prompting her to ponder on just how on earth she had heard them before? Her hearing had always been pretty terrible yet she refused to admit it, after vanity had stopped her from wearing her glasses. That and the fact she had accidentally dropped them ten or so times, chipping most of the paint. 

Leah could now make out the words that the mystery beings were speaking and she immediately began to eavesdrop, in the hope of learning who they were. 

"Are you sure we're not allowed to stop yet? It has to have been at least three hours since we last ate, Hobbits aren't used to starvation you know!"

The young girl felt bewildered on hearing this, was the Hobbits the name of the speaker? Why was he referring to himself in the third person then?

"Peregrin Took, quit your complaining! If you ever want to get out of the Midgewater Marshes you'll learn to stop complaining and to keep walking. Use your head!"

"That's easy for you to say Strider or who ever you are! But here I am, being eaten alive, with an empty stomach, after a night of barely any rest. This is our second day in these midge-infested lands, when will we be out of here?"

"Hopefully by tomorrow, we'll then make for Weathertop."

"Can we please just have a five-minute break Strider? I really do think I'm going to fade away if I don't eat something soon."

"Fine, we'll stop here for a little while. Mind you, we'll need to find a more suitable resting stop before nightfall. I have a place in mind but we'll have to hurry."

Damn, the girl cursed silently. Why did they have to stop here of all places? She could hear voices chattering, something about someone called Sam and how things called Neekerbreekers would be out that night. Leah slowly and silently peeled away the small branch blocking her view of the speakers. She was astounded with what she saw. A tall man, with shaggy black hair, wearing what looked to be hunting clothes and carrying a sword, was looking through some sort of backpack. Why would anyone be wearing a sword, the girl wondered, an uneasy feeling beginning to spread through the pits of her stomach. 

What she saw next took her breath away. Four little. well she supposed you could call them men, wear in the middle of an argument of what looked to be about an apple. They were barefoot of all things, with extremely hairy feet and clothes as strange as what the man was wearing. Fear gripped the girl's heart and terror took over her movements. She began to back away, bit by bit, and then froze. What if they heard her and came to attack? She hadn't seen any signs of a phone; there was no chance of the police coming to save her. Glancing frantically around her eyes landed on a long and hopefully solid, stick. Slowly Leah grasped the stick in her right hand and began to back away once more. She had almost reversed three meters when she realized the voices had stopped. It was that moment that her heart almost stopped as well, making her muscles jam up. 

She then heard a voice behind her say "Now what do we have hear? A spy of the Dark Lord, no doubt!" 

A strong hand gripped her forearm spinning her around. She looked up into the blue eyes of the man and went with her instincts. 

Leah had no doubt that the entire swamp infested land heard her scream. 

As the echoes of her scream died away Leah decided that it was time for her to act out an escape plan. The only problem was that she was yet to think of one and her mind was focused on one thought: Why do they never teach us anything useful in school? She decided to go for the obvious method and jumped up quickly in the hope of startling the man and getting her arm back. Unlike like her though, his reflexes didn't seem to take a good three seconds to kick in and while she got her arm free, she soon found herself on the ground with a sword at her throat. Terror came over her at the realization that she was one step away from death and biting back tears she slowly look up into the man' face. 

That was when a voice spoke up, "Strider, I don't think she's a spy! I mean she looks a bit young and all don't you think?" 

The mans eyes left Leah's face for a brief second to meet those of the little creature that had voiced the statement on her behalf. Leah gave an inward sigh of relief; at least she had found one ally! Maybe she wouldn't die at the tender age of fifteen. 

The man Strider didn't seem to share the little person's option though. 

"Just because she doesn't wear the face of a creature of Mordor doesn't mean that she is any less evil. Things do not always appear what they seem!"

"I'm not a spy!" the girl piped up. "I do not even know of this Mordor place and I have no clue to who you are. All I want to know is where I am and what the nearest place of civilization is."

"You are in the middle of the Midgewater Marshes and the nearest town is Bree", the man said, looking into the girl's eyes in order to find evidence of her honesty.

"That means absolutely nothing to me! Tell me, how far is Brookville from here? It's about three hours from Brisbane but I couldn't how gone that far!"

The man look puzzled to say the least. He slowly lowered his sword. "I have never heard of this Brookville or any place called Brisbane either. In what part of Middle-earth is it situated?"

"You have never heard of Brisbane", Leah whispered slowly. "How about Sydney? Canberra? New York?"

One of the other creatures then piped up, "I don't think this one's right in the head Mr. Frodo, if you know what I mean."

Tears began to pour down the girls face. "I'm lost! I'm completely lost in the middle of a marsh!"

"Midgewater Marshes to be precise", one of the creatures told me, with an adorable grin plastered on his face. 

It was then that the little person who had stayed quiet so far spoke up, "Merry! Be more sensitive. Can't you see she's upset? Don't worry Miss", he directed at Leah. "You can come with us, we'll take you out of the swamp at least." As he said this he looked at the man, pleading in his eyes.

The man sighed and looked Leah over. "We'll we definitely can't leave you here, our best option is to take her to Elrond's house. But bear this in mind!" Looking straight into the young girl's eyes he said, "If you make any suspicious moves I will not be lenient on you. You have the benefit of the doubt at this stage but let me inform you now Elrond does not welcome spies." 

The girl nodded slowly and nervously pushed her blonde hair behind her ears to hide the fact her hands were shaking. 

This caused the one that had thought her mad to exclaim "Lawks! She's an elf! Look at her ears Mr. Frodo, she's one of the fair people." 

Leah let hers wander around the gathering, at their amazed faces and brought her hands back up to her ears. Feeling her way along the rim she came to the stunning realization that they were pointed. But, she thought, there is no such thing as elves, is there?


	3. Chapter Two

Finding Your Feet

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything associated with Lord Of The Rings. All characters/places are the property of J.R.R.Tolkein, as are any phrases that I have taken out of the books. Any phrases used from the film are the property of Peter Jackson. 

Chapter Two

This would have to be worst thing, Leah thought, her mind centered on this extremely important fact. Even though she was lost, away from her family, with a group of strangers who might very well change their minds and decide she was better of dead, the fact that she had ears like an elf had to be the ultimate low. How am I ever going to go back to school looking like this, she wondered? I'm already uncool; I don't think I can afford to be any more different. 

The man suddenly exclaimed "Why did you not inform us of your race on the moment of our meeting?" 

Leah began to feel sick at the thought of how she would explain about how she didn't know why she suddenly had elf ears. Taking a deep breath she decided the truth was the best way to go. "Well…" she began. " I didn't have elf ears before I umm entered the marsh." 

As the man opened is mouth to yet again question her, Leah decided that it was time to end this conversation before it got worse. If that was even possible. Before he began she quickly said "It doesn't matter, this isn't going to get me out of here, lets just get out of this marsh and go to whoever's house you were talking about… Elrond?"

The man gave a sigh and admitted, "You are right. I am called Strider." Pointing at the little person that had been in Leah's option the quietest he said "And this is Frodo Baggins. Next to him is his loyal servant Samwise." The latter statement was in reference to the creature that had first noticed her ears. The girl gave them both a shy smile, which deepened at the sight of the pony whose reins Sam clutched. Lastly he nodded at the remaining two, "And these two mischief makers are Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck." 

"Just Pippin Miss", the one who had been complaining at the beginning announced. 

"And everyone calls me Merry", the other informed me, with a quick smile and a duck of the head. "So what's your name?" he then asked. 

The girl looked up "Oh, I'm sorry! It's Leah, Leah." 

"Well come on Leah Clark. We have a long distance to travel in as little time as possible", Strider announced. 

***********************************************************

The rest of the day was spent in making their way through the Midgewater Marshes and the deep pools and sinking footholds that were part of the ever joyful experience. Leah gave a grimace as her foot sank get again into of the many puddles of water, leaving her sneaker saturated. Squish, squish, squish, even camp wasn't as bad as this. The only good part was that the water was only up to her ankles, whereas before it had reached the top of her knees. The girl mentally scolded herself for complaining, after all the hobbits had it a lot worse than she did. 

"Strider how far now till we get to make camp, Pippin groaned. Leah quickly looked up in order to hear the man's answer to the question that had been plaguing her mind for quite some time now. 

Strider answered "Probably only another hour but we'll have to hasten our pace if we want to reach a suitable spot by nightfall." 

Leah silently groaned. She wasn't quite sure if she would be able to last another hour or that there would be anything left of her if she did. The midges were in plague proportions and she had always had a knack for attracting insects. She shifted the weight of her duffel bag onto her right shoulder, wishing for what seemed like the thousandth time that day that she was a lighter packer. In order to pass the time she went over everything she had been told about this…Middle-earth. It sounded like some fantasyland, if her feet weren't aching so badly she would have thought she might have still been unconscious. Maybe this Elrond fellow would be able to help, Strider made it sound like everyone considered him extremely wise. He must be some type of guru, she reflected. The finally reached the "spot" a moderately dry area of land situated under another, you guessed it, dead tree. Noticing this little factor, Leah began to wonder if anything actually grew in this Middle-earth place. Strider handed out pieces of bread and bruised apples and then recommended that they go sleep soon. Leah wrapped the cloak he had given her around her body and tried to ignore the midges, which obviously hadn't heard of pacing yourself when you eat. The hobbits were quiet as well and soon fell asleep. 

That's when she realized she had one major problem. She couldn't get to sleep. Propping herself up on one elbow, she turned to where Strider was standing keeping watch. "You wouldn't happen to know why I can't seem to fall asleep, would you? Is it an elf thing or have I fully gone delusional?" 

The man smiled and replied, "The elves sleep with their eyes remaining open, blending living night and deep dream."

Leah gave a sigh of disgust and turned on her side, hoping to at least get some rest. A light doze soon fell over her and she found her mind traveling on the path of dreams. Images of her family blended with voices that sounded so, so familiar filled her head, yet she could not make out what the speakers were telling her. The voices just seemed to keep getting louder and more impatient until Leah began to think she wouldn't be able to stand the chaos any longer. Abruptly, she woke. She slowly began to push herself off the ground, blinking away the tears that had gathered and began to spill down her face. Sniffing, she wiped her nose with her sleeve, wishing that for just once in her life she had actually remembered to bring tissues with her. 

A voice cut through the shadows of the night. "Are you all right? You seem… disturbed." 

Leah did not have to look to know it was the man Strider. She nodded, hoping that he would leave her alone and let her wallow in her own misery. Unfortunately his curiosity had been bottled up for too long. 

"Why do you wear such strange garments? I have never seen any of the fair people walk in shoes such as those; they make such a loud noise. It is also not a common practice for females to dress the same as that of males, have your kind forsaken such conventions?"

This made Leah's blood boil but she was to shy to lose her temper. Instead she put on her most understanding face and tried to explain her clothing with as little words as possible. 

"Girls are allowed to dress the same as guys, I mean males, where I come from. This is not considered unusual."   

A long silence hung in the air. Strider just nodded as if her answer had satisfied him but Leah wasn't fooled. She had seen the brief flicker of disbelief in his eyes and she knew he didn't trust her in the least. She would have to be wary around him. Lying back down, she tried to fall "asleep" again, hoping against hope that her strange dreams would not return. 

The next morning dawned bright and the company left in the early hours of the morning. The hobbits spirits had picked up at the thought that they would soon be out of the marshes and Leah found herself really happier as a result. She soon joined in a discussion with them about a place called the Shire that, in her opinion, would have been a much better location to end up in. They all seemed to miss it very dearly and spent the rest of the journey in the marshes regaling her with stories of a hobbit named Bilbo and his magical birthday party. She laughed along with them and soon learnt that Bilbo was in fact Frodo's older cousin. Pippin and Merry then began to speak about a person named Tom Bombadil but Frodo shushed them. They had not gone far when the land began to steadily rise again and a line of hills could be seen in the distance. 

Strider pointed the highest one out. "This is Weathertop" he made known. "Where the great watchtower of Amon Sûl once stood. Built by the Men of the West, in the first days of the North Kingdom, it once stood tall and fair. It was then burnt and broken and nothing remains of it but a tumbled ring." A long pause then followed. "We should hopefully reach it by noon tomorrow." 

Frodo then inquired about finding someone called Gandalf there. A discussion then followed about how they would approach Weathertop in order to avoid things such as "Riders" and other sorts of wildlife that Strider seem to think posed a threat to their well being. None of this made much sense to Leah so she tuned out and tried to think of just how she ended up here. Unfortunately no theories seemed to be formulating in her brain but by that time a route had been decided on. More accurately Strider had decided on a course, since no one else had a clear of idea of where they were and where they were going and all those of questions.  

The journeyed on the rest of the day until it as early evening and a chill had set in. They made camp under some trees by the shores of a lightly flowing stream. Strider again kept watch and Leah found herself spending the night in and out of sleep. By morning she had had enough of the whole elf thing. Going from sleeping like the dead and snoring quite loud too spending most of the night awake was not a fun transformation, as one might imagine. At least the dreams did not return. She arose the next morning, fresher than before, eager to keep walking in the hope that she would be one step closer to reaching home. Leah had set her heart on the fact that Elrond would know how to send her back to her family. They were probably already worried sick about her. The police would have been informed and she had probably been talked about on the news! The girl who mysteriously vanished without a trace, didn't newspapers love selling that sort of stuff? She tried to focus her mind on her parents, in the hope of helping to quench the ache of her heart. Instead she was shaken to find that she could no longer remember some of the little details about them. It was if her memory had dimmed, she could no longer recall just what her mother enjoyed doing or what sport her father liked to watch. They were both teachers, she knew that. 

 By dark fall they had reached Weathertop. Strider led them to a sheltered hollow in the side of the mountain, where they were to spend the night. He perused the area for signs of recent passersby and found two sets of footprints. He seemed to think that people called "Rangers", making it sound like they were playing a game of Cowboys and Indians, made some of the prints. He wasn't sure who had made the others, something Leah was quite happy about as she felt that the answer would be far from good.  The hobbits seemed to share Strider's sense of foreboding; they were fearful that "Riders" had been here recently and wanted to know if they could be seen.

"Ultimately", he whispered. "It is the Ring which draws them near."

These words further confused Leah. What ring, she wondered. She was about to voice her question out loud when Frodo suddenly spoke up.

"Is there no escape then?" he demanded, his face full of fear. "If I move I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me!"

In the hope of comforting him Strider told him that they were to have a fire. 

"There is still hope. The Riders do not love fire and fear those who wield it. Fire is our friend in the wilderness."

"Are the Riders after this Ring? Are they coming to kill us? If so, why don't we just hand it over to them?" 

Both Frodo and Strider turned to look at the girl, whose eyes radiated fear. Neither knew what to say and silence commenced. Surprising, it was Merry who broke it. 

"We'll be alright Miss Leah", he said with a smile, while trying to place his arm around her shoulder. 

She was too tall though and to kneel down in order for him to do so. With a laugh she gave him a hug, feeling relieved that she had made one friend in this world. Even four, she thought happily, taking in the similar smiles of comfort that the other hobbits were giving her. Settling herself on the ground, she wrapped her jacket tighter around her in the hope of keeping out the frozen wind. 

"These are for you." Leah looked up in surprise, startled out of thoughts, in order to meet Strider's gaze. She then noticed the man's cloak that laid spread out on the ground and the five knifes attached to it. He threw one to Merry, Pippin and Sam, who all looked awestruck, while Frodo picked up the one closest to him. He then slowly passed the last one to Leah, his face unreadable.  

"Keep them close. I am going to go have a look around." Surveying them he rose to his feet. "Stay here." With these words he departed around the corner, the shadows closing in on where he once stood. 

Fingering the knife Leah felt her lip began to tremble. At least I know he trusts me, she thought. Yet this knowledge brought her little comfort when she looked out into the gloom of the night. 


	4. Chapter Three

Finding Your Feet

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything associated with Lord Of The Rings. All characters/places are the property of J.R.R.Tolkein, as are any phrases that I have taken out of the books. Any phrases used from the film are the property of Peter Jackson. 

Chapter Three

Despite the cold, Leah soon drifted off. The restless sleep she had gotten the past few nights had taken its toll on her body, along with an uncharacteristic amount of exercise. 

"What do you think you are doing? Put it out, you fools, put it out!"

Leah sat up in alarm, the memories of talk about Riders entering her head. To her astonishment she watched as Frodo hurriedly tried to put out the small campfire that Merry, Pippin and Sam had gathered around. 

"What's going on…" she began. But her words were interrupted by a terrible screeching sound that made her whole body freeze up. The hobbits jumped to their feet in alarm and grabbed the knives that Strider had handed to them earlier. Groping around in the dark for her knife, Leah hand closed on the hilt. The thought of what she would actually do with it fearfully crossed her mind.  Peering over the edge of the cliff, Frodo drew his own knife. 

"Go!" he shouted, his voice clear even over the eerie screams. Leah forced her mind to obey Frodo's order and followed the hobbits around the corner and up a stone staircase that led to the peak of Weathertop. By this time all of the hobbits had drawn their knives and had made a circle, with Pippin and Sam at the front and the other three at the back. Leah's eyes frantically searched for whatever was making the noise, while her fingers fumbled with the scabbard that enclosed her weapon. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her breath came in short gasps. She bit her lip in an attempt to quiet the sound and scanned the ruins for any sign of a hiding spot. It was then she caught sight of a dark figure slowly rising out of the shadows, gradually making its way toward them. Frodo noticed the figure the same time Leah did and stared frozen in horror at it. 

A billowing cloak covered the creature's face and body, hiding its features from view. As Leah's eyes began to adjust to the vision before her, she realized with a start that this must be one of the infamous Riders. No wonder they were scared, her mind apprehended, it's impossible to tell whether it's even human or not. All thoughts stopped when the Rider drew a sword from underneath its cloak and grasped it in its gauntlet-covered hand. Seeing the hand covered in steel and the sword rising out of it Leah tried to turn away, to run away, but her body would not obey her mind. 

Crunch. The Rider drew closer to Leah and the circle of hobbits, its steel boots hard against the ground. 

Leah anxiously looked around, hoping against hope to see some sign of Strider. Instead her eyes caught sight of four other figures advancing towards the group. Her heart leapt to her throat as she realized the Riders had her and hobbits surrounded. They were going to die, here in the ruins. She was going to die on a mountaintop in a fantasy world; her family would never even find her body. Hatred filled her heart and she slowly lifted the hand in which she clumsily held the knife in and brought it up in order to face the advancing Riders. It was then Sam broke loose. 

"Back, you Devils" he shouted and swung his knife at the nearest figure. A clanging sound echoed through the air as the Rider brought up his sword to meet Sam. The hobbit was then thrown aside by the force of the blade and Merry and Pippin then ducked to the sides to avoid being struck. Leah froze as the Rider swung his sword at her and stumbled backwards, falling into Frodo in the process. The girl tried to scramble backwards and felt the hard rock of one of the statues digging into her back. They were cornered! Turning to look at Frodo next to her she was stunned to find he had pulled out some ring and looked like he was trying to avoid putting it on. Was this was they were talking about before, was this the object the Rider's desired? The Rider! Glancing up, Leah gasped as she saw that it was nearly upon them. 

"Frodo!" she yelled. Reaching out to grab the hobbit, she realized there was nothing to grab. For Frodo had vanished! The Rider brought his hand out to where the hobbit had been lying and the girl rolled away in order to get away. The figure seemed to be trying to grasp something but must have failed because he drew his hand back. Scrambling to her feet the girl stepped back into the shadows, fear taking over. Then the Rider grabbed his blade and shoved it into the space in front of him. Only it seemed to cut through something. 

_What was going on_, Leah wondered? Then Frodo materialized, this time though his shoulder hosted a deep wound. Pure horror gripped Leah and she clutched her knife tighter, guilt entering her heart at the thought that she had somehow caused this. The Rider began to lean in, as if to stab the hobbit again, when a figure suddenly jumped in between. 

"Strider" Leah yelled, a feeling of enormous relief taking hold of her at the sight of the man attacking the Rider with both sword and flame. The creatures began to back away, fearful of the fire that the human wielded.  

"Frodo!" Leah turned from the battle scene in time to see Sam throw himself next to the injured hobbit, who was grasping his shoulder in agony. The girl quickly ran over to join the huddle that had formed around Frodo, peering over Sam's shoulder while she tried to blot out the agonizing screams in the background. Grasping the hobbit's hand she tried to reassure him.

"It's going to be all right Frodo, don't worry.  Strider is here now; he'll know what to do. You heard him talk before, he knows all about medicines, your going to be fine." Well that was what she tried to say, but fear had made her slur the words and speak at a breakneck speed. A loud shriek broke through the night and the girl whirled around in time to see Strider set one of the Riders alight. Gasping in horror, she watched wide-eyed as the man forced them to flee. He then turned to where Frodo lay and grasped the hilt of the sword that had stabbed the hobbit. 

"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade." The blade then crumbled to dust. "This is beyond my skill to heal, he needs Elvish medicine." With that he picked up the hobbit and went to where they had earlier made camp. Grabbing the pony's reins he threw them over to Sam.

"Quickly now." Leah pulled on her jacket and paused when she reached her bag. Should she bother bringing it along if they were in such a hurry? A quick glance around told her that the others were almost ready and she had to make her decision swiftly. Panic took over, she hated the idea of decision making with a passion and she had no inkling what the road ahead would be like. 

"Miss Leah, you coming?" The girl looked down in surprise at Merry's anxious face. 

"Of course", she replied. "Its not like I have anywhere else to go and I couldn't possible leave Frodo, especially since it mostly my fault he was injured." The hobbit looked at her, his eyes wide open in surprise.

"Well what ever gave you that idea? You did all you could do, it not like we even stood a chance against those Riders." 

"Merry, Leah, we must haste." With those words both hobbit and girl began to follow the rest of the company but not without Leah first grabbing her duffel bag. As she grimaced at the weight of the bag, the girl gave a sigh and hoped she was making the right choice. Oh well, at least she could now be certain she had clean underwear. 


End file.
